Did my first trip ever!

Chris, I would recommend posting a list of EVERYTHING you carry.  If you have a scale, post the weight for each.  People here will chime in on cheaper, lighter options.  They will tell you some things you really don’t need to take.

First congrats on the trip!  Second good job getting your base-weight into the 20 lb range after your first trip.  Many people settle into the lightweight comfort zone which is around 20 lb base-weight.  Its a good area to be, but it sounds like you want to go lighter.  From you description I can think of a few areas to skim weight but obviously you next area of significant weight savings would be on the big (expensive) three: pack, bag, and tent.

Areas to save weight without much expense.  I hike on the left coast where we don’t see much rain, so I don’t know what is appropriate for your neck of the woods.  So take my advice for what it is worth.  I’ve never heard of experienced backpackers using a backpack rain cover.  You can put equipment that shouldn’t get wet (clothes, sleeping bag) in a garbage bag or trash compactor bag if you want a bit more protection.  For your rain coat, you could look into dri ducks.  They are cheap and light (but not very durable).

Don’t leave the first aid kit behind, but you can scale it back to needed components.  One of the best things to do with a first aid kit, is ask yourself if you have the training to use it.  If not, its probably not going to be much use in the back country to you.

Congrats! Good for you!  I used to be in NYC and the Catskills are surprisingly close!

Nice work with the pile exercise, sounds like you just cut your pack weight in half! And not too shabby on miles and elevation gain.

Keep a look-out for second-hand gear here on the gear swap forum. As for specific items your sleeping pad seems like the best target. Klymt has some very reasonable prices ones for inflatables. Check out FroggTogg DriDucks for cheap, light, comfortable rainwear (the catch? not so durable).

How much does that rain cover weigh? A lot of us skip those covers and instead line our packs with trash compactor bags (unscented!).

Getting out there is the most important part! I only made it up there a few times – of what i did I remember the view from Panther Mountain was amazing. And did you get the NYNJ trail conference maps? I miss those, they are the best.

Tip for a quick wilderness fix in Manhattan: do you know about Inwood Hill park? Supposedly some of that forest is original. It does not feel like you are still in Manhattan!

Budget issues aside, you could reasonably get a pack down to 12-15 pounds with a nice margin of safety and comfort. With careful, slow, gradual purchases you may be able to do that over time.

Have you tried trekking poles? That might make the experience easier, especially with a lot of ups and downs. Cascade brand on Amazon  or Costco runs about $40.

Over the long run if you do end up replacing your core gear, look at hammocks — they open up tons of stealth site options. Something I appreciate as a fellow female solo hiker! A set up would involve: hammock/suspension, tarp, underside insulation (pad or “underquilt”)

How did you do for food? Taking the just-right amount of food can help a ton with pack weight.

I think you’re definitely on the right track.  If fact I would say you’re ahead of the curve for most 1st time backpackers, especially since you did it all by yourself.  Cutting your pack weight down will absolutely increase your enjoyment and you’ve come to the right place for that.  You’re sure to get plenty of advice here but a couple of the quickest, cheapest ways to cut weight that I see in your gear list:

1. Ditch the Teva’s.  Hike in trail runners, then you don’t need camp shoes.  They will get wet, but it’s no big deal. When you get to camp, dry your feet, put on dry socks and then put bread bags or vegetable bags on your feet and put them back in your shoes.
2. I would ditch the sleeping pad for a Ridgerest.  They are cheap, light and durable.
3. I second the Dri Ducks or Frogg Toggs replacement for your rain jacket.
4. You said you filtered your water but didn’t say what kind of filter. Some of them are heavy.  You also list backup drops (I assume Aqua Mira).  I would ditch the filter and just carry the drops.
5. One of the prime tenets of lightweight backpacking is “multi-use” instead of “back up.”
6. Of the big 3, I would start saving to replace your sleeping bag first.  It appears to have the most potential weight decrease per dollar invested.
7. Finally, please, please cut out the 3 cigarettes a day.

Congratulations on your first trip! Now you’ve got a lifetime of adventures to look forward to.

also: post a separate post asking for Catskills trip suggestions and Bob Moulder will notice it. Follow his advice for all things NY State.

“the ONLY answer is “lose weight, gain muscle and keep your eye out on eBay for some lighter gear”

That’s it in one sentence, if you ax me.  If you have disposable income, then dowhatchawant, but I think that the best 20lbs to lose is on your body. (mine too, ugh).  By then you will know better what gear you want vs need, and should waste less money buying gear that doesn’t work.  Also your clothes will fit differently.  And lastly, if you don’t get out much, buying newer, lighter, shinier gear could become a rabbit hole for money. (slave to the spreadsheet)

First of all congrats on your trip!  It sounds like you had a great time.

Look at the steps that you have taken so far, after one trip, you started at a 38 pound pack and can see a pathway to 23 pound (no water or food).  A 15 pound change is huge!  As you backpack more, you will become more aware of what you need and what you can live without.  A lot of the journey is building up the confidence and knowledge of how to safely reduce pack weight down to your comfort level.  If you really enjoy backpacking and start hiking more often, it has a tendency to adjust a number of other values in your life: strength, weigh, how you spend your weekends and how you allocate where you spend money.  The trick is to find your comfort level and be happy with it (HYOH).  While I think that it is great that people push the base weight levels down, I myself am comfortable having a base weight of >10 pounds: works for me.

I’m personally very impressed with the fact that you did that by yourself (I’m still working up my courage to backpack with no other people but take one of my dogs) and you clearly have a good understanding of the methodology to achieve a lighter pack.

No one mentioned it, but this site has a “Gear Swap” where you can pick up lighter gear for usually about half of what it would be new. Buyer beware and all that, but it’s a good place to peruse esp. if you have some idea what you want. I got both my packs and both sleeping bags used. Should have got my tent used, also, but got impatient.

If you aren’t sure what you want, use the site search and look up what you’re considering, if it’s UL it probably has been covered in these forums. Research a lot to save yourself from buying gear you don’t end up liking. But at least if you buy it on Gear Swap (or used somewhere else) you can probably sell it for what you have in it if you do end up not liking it.

Great job. You’re on the right track. Here’s a site that may help in used gear searches. One of the BPL members maintains this search feature on their own time, so it’s not guaranteed to always work, but usually does. It searches the for sale section of multiple forums.

https://www.getawaygear.com/bpl/

Hey, Chris!

Mega Kudos for getting out there and doing a solo trip!

The Catskills offer a lot of fantastic hiking, and there is another asset much closer to NYC which is Harriman State Park. While it might not be as rugged and the peaks not as high (OK, not nearly) as those in the Catskills, it is the perfect training ground for honing your skills, and there is indeed some very challenging hiking there if you know where to look. The NY/NJ Trail Conference map sets for Harriman and for the Catskills are very useful for planning trips. I’ve done a lot of stuff in the Catskills (thanks, Kat!) and can suggest some more good stuff up there as well. The issue with the Catskills is that there aren’t a lot of options for loops although, as luck would have it, one of the best (and most challenging) hikes happens to be the Wittenberg/Cornell/Slide Mtn loop from either Big Indian (Rt 47) or from Woodland Valley Road.

However, in addition to the excellent advice from others, I strongly suggest—BEFORE buying anything!—that you read a couple of books in order to gain an understanding of UL concepts. Don’t worry, they’re very light and quick reads: Lighten Up! by Don Ladigin and Ultralight Backpackin’ Tips by Mike Clelland. Especially don’t go into Tents-n-Trails, Paragon or REI Soho, lol!

UL kits needn’t be super expensive, but unfortunately most of us had to spend a lot of money first to discover that.

I’m hoping that Link. (@annapurna) will chime in soon with a good list of suggested online reading for you.

Welcome to BPL. I joined only 3-4 years ago and even as a fairly experienced winter backpacker with a bit of alpine mountain experience it has really been a transforming experience. Once you go truly UL you will thank yourself every time you step on a trail.

Sounds like a great trip.

ditch the Tevas to save 25 oz

leave the tent foot print behind, it’s probably 8 oz.  for stakes just take the 4 or six that hold the tent to the ground, the guylines can be affixed with sticks, trees, rocks if you really need them

if it’s a 1 night trip and weather looks good consider an emergency poncho instead of the rain gear.

Post your packed clothes list most people overpack there.  Basically it should just be sleep clothes, an insulation layer and a rain layer.  Everything else is extra.

for weight saving purchases do your pack last.  The biggest bang for you buck would likely be getting a Klymit insulated static V from massdrop for $60 and 16oz.  You maintain comfort and save 2lbs

Sleeping Bag I would look for one of the REI flash bags on deep clearance or a Kelly Cosmic down on clearance.  Should come in around 2lbs.

For a tent wait until you can figure out what you like and dislike about your current tent and if you want to use trekking polls or not as their are far too many options out there if you don’t have a starting point to make your decision.

Good Luck, 15lbs down only about 8 more to go to have a very solid budget kit.

The first thing I did when I got home was go straight to Excel and make a spreadsheet! Because I carried some really dumb stuff. I carried a solar charger that was like a pound and a half because I was afraid my kindle would die in the hour that I used it before bed. In the Catskills. Ugh. Stupid. (I used to go to the Kentucky Derby infield, I went 14 years in a row. 7 AM to 7 PM in a field with no where to shelter and HEAVY cell phone and tablet usage. Hence even having it.)  I carried my gardening trowel as if there weren’t about 10 billion triangular shaped fist sized rocks with which to dig a 6 inch hole in the Catskills. I only got it all in the pack because all the big stuff was clipped to the outside.The only saving grace is that I didn’t know that I looked like a total idiot to the day hikers until I was on my way out.

Oh and speaking of Derby weekend…I actually got a FrogTogg for Derby one year and still have it. I have NO idea why I didn’t bring that instead of my fishing rain gear. But now I know to shove it in the front pocket!

The pack rain cover is clipped to a little pocket on the inside of my $25 pack I bought at work (its a Thule Capstone 50L, used once and hated – though I will say once packed more reasonably I rather liked it.) I can easily snip that out and switch to the trash bag on the inside now that I can pack the thing.  I’m still worried about the left ankle a bit, hence the need to get weight down. I broke a piece of bone of it last year and stretched the ligament but its didn’t break. It rolls out easily and I have to roll it back in. The doc said he would totally support me trying the reconstruction surgery, but I opted for the therapy instead. I don’t really need mids but I need my foot to not slip on the foot bed – so nice tight heels and midsoles. I have a lace up soft cast. It should be ok though. It gets stronger the more I go on it. I already ordered a pair a moutnainsmith 7075 aluminum trekking poles with the cork grips for $30. I should have done that before, that was penny wise and pound foolish of me. I did get the NYNJ TC maps, so I knew the elevation profile and that it would be tough for me. But I didn’t know it would be rock and boulder scrambles and tree roots and all that. The last time I even went on day hike was 10 years ago when I went up Wheeler Peak in New Mexico. That trail was like a 4 lane superhighway compared to the Catskills.

For water I used the Sawyer mini filter and attached in line to a Hydrapack 3L bladder. Those I actually bought outright on Amazon. Once I kinda figured out how much I would sweat/drink in 5 miles I didn’t fill it up all the way, about 2/3rds was good and I held off finishing it until the car was close just in case. Right now water is ok in the Catskills. But its not always like that, even the fly fishing streams can go dry in mid summer. Hydration and warmth I get pretty fearful of. I have heard the saying about packing your fears – water and cold are the 2 things I am genuinely scared of. I could go a week without food and live. But being far from water still freaks me out. And hence getting a 20 degree bag for a 42 degree night when it was 80 at the trailhead.

I got that bag online for $62. The down ones are so much lighter, but pretty pricey. I kind of have half a mind to scan craigslist for one of those Canada Goose 800 fill coats that all the NYC finance bros bought in the last couple winters before they realized they don’t ride a packed rush hour subway to Antarctica every day and just re-stuff my bag shell. Is something like that even possible? Seriously. People are unloading those cheap because they take up more room in an NYC apartment than they are actually worth when you do the square footage math. If someone has done this, there has to be a YouTube video. If not, I will save up for a down bag. It rains here in the spring sure, but its not the tropics – there’s no rainy season. A down bag would be so nice. And light.

So I should go with thinner foam pad to try to find an air mattress do you think? I guess that depends on if I stick with the tent or not – or move to a tarp or hammock type thing. I may have to try a tarp/fly plus ground tarp (no tent) set up or a hammock first. One thing we have a lot of around here is black flies. And one thing black flies love is me. I took a DEET shower with Ben’s 100% before I left the car and STILL managed to get like 4 or 5 bites. Seriously, I once got bit by a mosquito at Belleyare in February. If there is a biting fly on this side of the Atlantic it will find me. That’s why my initial thought was changing out poles for a lighter aluminum. Or even if there is a lighter rain fly I could get separately for cheaper…the tent itself is an Alps Mountaineering Lynx 1 – its a standard rectangular shape. ($54 on Steep and Cheap with a coupon code!) I would just need to clip on a rainfly that would fit it. It may be that I have to stick with something mesh, even if its smaller and I can’t sit up in it.

Food is about the only thing I got right…the exact portion of egg noodles with packaged cheese sauce, a bagel and that awesome chocolate brownie cliff bar for desert. I had just the right amount of powdered milk because I had just the right amount of maxwell house instant for the morning. And I had granola bars for breakfast. Didn’t need the cup because the pot was small enough to drink from after washing it. Didn’t need the knife or the utensils or plastic bowls in the kit either. I realized when I got home that I have a french press that I forgot I had. If I had remembered it I probably would have packed it.

If I want to go to the eastern Adirondacks this summer though, I have to carry a bear canister. They are required. So I have to factor that in. I will say just in one day I figured out black bears live more in my head than anything else. Particularly when I had to do the stealth camping. Bears aren’t going to burn up bear energy to go out of their way to come look for my > 200 calorie granola bars. I assume they evolved to be smarter than that or there wouldn’t be so many of them to begin with. I am still bringing the dry bag and the paracord and clip outside of canister range because if I am nearer to a lean to or one of the DEC sites one night and the bear comes looking for a snack, the poor bear is the one that will end up paying the ultimate price once the ranger finds him. I really like animals – so the thought that my laziness could kill a beautiful black bear is too sad. So I’m not upset at the bears for making me carry a canister, I’m upset at the people that trained the bears to get the food in the first place. The dry bag is 10L, I guess I could get a smaller one and shave an oz if I needed to, but I think its ok.

Anyway, sorry this is super long. There’s a LOT to learn. You can read stuff then you go out and DO it and its all different. But I’m pretty stubborn. I REALLY had fun and I’m going to get out there as often as I can.I am already looking at the Catskills Escarpment trail 3 day backpack for late June. I’m going to do Slide Mountain in early June to look for a rare bird (Bicknell’s Thrush.) And I’m gonna do the Adirondacks thru hike in the fall (133 miles.) I’m pretty stubborn. I’ll do what it takes to get it done – without being miserable doing it. I’ll walk with my full pack around Manhattan if I have to, I’ll head up to Inwood, there’s some hard walking up there.

Oh and that’s what I came up with for my list last night. The yellow are the core items that become replacement targets over time. The small stuff I could put on a kitchen scale but the yellow items I am relying on the manufacturers say so on their websites. The blue is an estimate because I didn’t weigh things in the sacks, nor did I weigh the sacks. And the food is what I carried on an overnight. So I imagine for a 3 day with scant water sources I am back up to 35 lbs ish. This is such a puzzle.

This may have been your first trip….but you look like a pro here :)

Good for you!

I did a trip recently in similar conditions (rain/cool).

Here is my gear list. Pack weight at the trail head was 12 lb, including food and 20oz water, Base 8.5 lb.

Not saying this is what your gear list should look like, but perhaps a starting guideline… an example of what a UL equivalent might look like.

Oh and I didn’t overpack clothes except for the heavy rain jacket which I did use on the hike out. I live in a building without laundry. I am sensitive to my wash and fold/dry cleaning bill. Cutting clothes to a bare minimum is something I can do. I wore a tshirt in because it was hot Saturday and my long lightweight pants. And I wore the silk undershirt at night and underneath on the hike out. I wore the fleece at night when making dinner and I am glad I brought it because it got cold (to me anyway.) And my long underwear at night. And I put my beanie cap on. That is all I brought. I don’t mind wearing the same clothes for days and days.

DOING IT RIGHT ??

Bravo on your first trip!
Bravo on your spreadsheet!
Bravo on using hiking to get healthier!

I’ve financed most of my 8# baseweight by not buying expensive coffee or eating lunch out any more. It adds up quickly and it feels great hiking with a light pack.

Wow. That 12lb list is INTENSE! Measuring things in grams. I am not even close to that, I have a ways to go.

I don’t know what those muscles are called on top of your shoulders close to your neck, but they are all for measuring in grams.

So really I am looking at ditching the tent shelter and  changing my bag/pad setup to really get a massive weight cut down. I can work toward that and build up strength at the same time.

I saw a movie 2 years ago about a girl (albeit younger than me) that hiked the pacific crest trail without measuring things in grams. How can people even do that? I would die. I imagine the first week or two would be pure hell. I’m not sure even I am that stubborn. I am going to slowly work my way up to a 10 day trip with what I have this year.

Looks like you’re off to a great start! Why not do a trip or two with your reduced pack weight before buying anything? Though I have an easy ounce for you: download the eBird app, since you’re bringing your phone.

Be careful about swapping your cushy sleeping pad for a thin foam one – keep in mind that those of us with more curvature need more support. Edit: there are some very light inflatables out there.

Your learning curve is steep!

yeah, caution on the foam. I would totally go the foam route…*IF* I could. But I can’t, i need a good 2.5″ thickness. Go to REI, EMS and try lying on a ridge rest or whatever that egg crate foam one is called and see how it feels. (But do not buy anything else there!)

You have “raingear” listed twice on your spreadsheet…you might be lighter than you think if that’s an error!

I’m tempted to encourage you more to check out hammocks, because that could affect other core gear decisions if you decide you like that. (e.g. you’d probably want quilt instead of a bag, an underquilt instead of a sleeping pad), A tarp could cover you either either in the hammock, or on the ground with some sort of bug netting. Anyhow – wish I had a budget hammock start kit suggestion to point you to, but if that sounds appealing to you it’s worth checking out. I ***love*** not being beholden to flat spots and established sites.

btw, great job on the scrupulous LNT practices!

Chris, this is a really cool post, and it should remind anyone that the most important thing at the end of the day is just GETTING OUT!

Regarding the grams thing… many people (myself included) still enjoy packing with a 15 lb. baseweight, which you’re not too far off from. This “lightweight” category is a great balance of comfort (camp chair, camp shoes, double-walled tent, etc.) and practicality.

I’d encourage, as others have, to try out your lower weight before splurging on new gear. You may be perfectly content, as many others are, with a base weight right around 20 lbs.

Great job, and happy trails!

OMG I do have rain gear on there twice! I meant to ask about that. So the manufacturers website said it was 16 oz. But then I balled it up and put it on the kitchen scale, empty pockets, the hood doesn’t detach so it wasn’t that. Same model year and everything…and my scale said 20oz. I googled a little bit and it seems manufactures often shave weight on their published spec sheets? That’s what people say anyway. The sleeping bag with the sack came out right. So maybe its just that manufacturer wasn’t too worried about 2 oz since its really a sailing jacket not a backpacking jacket.

Does anyone know this guy in Park Slope NYC from Gear to Go Outfitters? He rents a hammock for $30 for a 3 day trip. https://geartogooutfitters.com/collections/rental-gear/products/backpacking-hammock-tent-rental-1-person

I would totally try this. I am sure he could show me how to hang it. It can’t be harder than tossing a bag with a rock on 50 feet of para cord  up in a tree right?Lol  I had to get pretty far off the trail to find a level campsite because the lean-to area was jammed. There’s not a ton of flat and level real estate where I was. And I know a lot of it was my fault because I got there late but I had to do one thing for work before I could leave the city. Still it would be nice not to have to worry about. And if I can put a bug net on it that could totally work for me. Hiking lighter would definitely be better. But on the flip side, how would you camp in a meadow with a hammock? Do you just use it like a bivy sack?

Hanging a hammock is waaaay easier than doing a bear hang. One thing that’s not clear: Does he rent an underquilt? You gotta have something to keep your backside warm, and ground pads don’t tend to work so well in a hammock. I want to say I’ve heard a military poncho liner is a good budget option for that, but I don’t quite know what I’m talking about there…others will.

Hennessey is a good brand, though the Expedition might not be the lightest – but worth trying to get the feel of it. (Warbonnet Blackbird is my fave — if you like hammocks, ideally score one of those secondhand).

I was thinking about my Catskills experiences (all conventional-weight gear, when I was totally new at this). Never got up to Slide Mountain trip cause we ended up camping in a puddle the first night. Hammocks would have gotten us up out of that.

For the meadow — pitch your hammock in the trees at the edge of the meadow. That way you’re also not crushing any vegetation under your tent. Psychologically I like being right on the edge of an open space and thicker forest. My rule of thumb is generally if the topo map is green I can probably hang there. When it gets white, trees start getting sparse. So I keep an eye on that while I’m hiking, and as long as I’ve got green ahead of me I can just keep going as long as I want.

Chris,

Great job! Congrats!

if you enjoy sewing/ crafting (you did mention harvesting down from a coat for a sleeping bag), search through some of the MYOG (Make your own gear) posts and articles on this site, lytw8.com (a BPL member), and hammockforums.net. You can make perfectly functional lightweight gear your first time around, if you don’t mind seam ripping and some aesthetic issues :) Just as an example, I made a shaped tarp for $60 (that was a kit–you could do it for less), a quilt with top-of-the-line synthetic insulation for $60, a hammock for $15 from a wedding tablecloth and a couple zip ties (see Hammock Forums), and a 10 ounce backpack for $10 in materials, as a sewing novice. It takes free time that could be used for hiking, yes, but if you enjoy making things and have access to a sewing machine it’s a win. For me, when new gear was cost-prohibitive, MYOG was my ticket to a lighter pack.  Good luck!